Most available decking systems require the use of heavy equipment for their in situ construction, and also require the preparation of substantial foundations or footings. In most situations, and certainly in environmentally sensitive situations, these requirements cause significant damage to the surrounding areas.
Additionally, many areas in which in situ decking systems are required are irregular in terms of terrain, and introduce design and planning difficulties where a flat surface is required over undulating features. In particular, laying paths, tracks or boardwalks through wetland areas requires careful planning and surveying of levels to ensure the various components of the path are constructed to design levels correctly, whilst even a small margin of error can cause significant construction difficulties.
In general, traditional in situ timber decking systems are subject to much error in such situations, with subsequent wastage of materials and long installation times or delays in construction.
Furthermore, many of the environments in which such decking is required are quite harsh and corrosive, and are thus environments that will rapidly deteriorate and weather-damage traditional decking materials such as timber and steel. Concrete is thus a preferred material for such environments, but its use has typically been avoided for such decking due to the difficulty of in situ construction, especially where site access is restricted due to physical or environmental reasons. Furthermore, the traditional use of steel connectors and fixing materials such as nails, screws and bolts in decking systems are similarly prone to deterioration.
Our U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,084 describes an improved modular decking system which overcomes, or at least partly alleviates, the abovementioned difficulties. Our co-pending international patent application PCT/AU2007/000880 (WO 2008/000021) additionally describes an improved tread and bearer member locating system for use with the modular decking system of U.S. Pat. No. 5,906,084, which further improves and optimises the installation and inspection processes of that modular decking system and avoids the use of corrosion vulnerable fixtures and connectors.
However, a need has been identified for further improvement to the modular decking system, particularly in situations where it is possible (or essential) to construct the decking system so as to be in continuous contact along one of its sides with a continuous land mass. For example, in the case where the decking system is being constructed to provide a promenade along a foreshore where one side of the promenade is constructed on land and the other side is constructed over the water, an opportunity arises to use a form of continuous support for the landside of the promenade. Such a continuous support avoids the need to use stumps and bearers, which can simplify installation and can reduce the number of required components.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide an abutment for use in a modular decking system, which abutment is able to provide a useful construction alternative and additional design options for the systems described in our abovementioned patent and patent application.
Before turning to a summary of the present invention, it must be appreciated that the above description of the prior art has been provided merely as background to explain the context of the invention. It is not to be taken as an admission that any of the material referred to was published or known, or was a part of the common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere.
It is also useful to provide an explanation of some of the terms that will be used to define the spatial relationship of the abutment and of the modular decking system. In this respect, spatial references throughout this specification will generally be based upon a decking that is constructed and installed so as to be generally horizontal. With this environment as the basis, the abutment and the modular decking system may then be defined with reference to the “horizontal”, allowing further references to “upper” or “upwardly” and “lower” or “downwardly”, and also to the “vertical”.
Finally, some aspects of the present invention that may ultimately be claimed in isolation (and not in an in-use environment), may nonetheless be difficult to describe and understand in isolation. Thus, some of the following description does describe the invention and its embodiments in such an in-use environment (for example, an abutment in association with the treads and decking of a modular decking system).
Of course, it must be appreciated that the use of such description, and the use of the abovementioned spatial relationships, to define the present invention, is not to be seen as a limitation and certainly is not to be seen as a limitation only to the in-use environment, unless that intention is clearly stated.